Recent content by Railfan87

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    What gauge wire should I use for DPDT momentary toggle controls?

    A quick search online for a chart showing the current carrying capacity of copper wire shows that a 26 gauge wire will safely handle 3.2A, bundled with other wires, continuously. You're not going to be drawing that much current, and certainly not continuously, so 26 ga. is adequate. As has been...
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    Walthers/P2K SW8/900 won't stop!

    Solved: Walthers/P2K SW8/900 won't stop! Thanks for the responses. I did not have the loco on another throttle, but good idea. I had to reset the decoder using the magnet. Seems to me I've had to do that on another loco with a factory-installed QSI decoder, too. (Intermountain FP9A) It...
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    Round House or no round house?

    When I modeled the modern era, I could run a steam-powered passenger train as an 'excursion.' It might bend the rules to model 1956 and run modern trains once in a while, but only if you constrain your thinking of time being linear and uni-directional :D
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    add weight to flat car?

    Personally, I use the same method as Iron Horseman, although my stock of lead sheet is getting low. And some say lead is toxic :) I've known people that use low-melting point metal filler between the two halves of the centre sill. Google Field's metal, or fusible alloys to find suppliers in...
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    Round House or no round house?

    Lots of good answers and opinions. I think of transfer tables as being used at large servicing shops. They're not the kind of thing you will see at every division point on a 1:1 railway. Turntables, as has been noted, are fast becoming a thing of the past. At the end of the day, put in...
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    Walthers/P2K SW8/900 won't stop!

    Hi, My SW8 either will not stop or is taking a very long time to decelerate. Decoder - stock QSI model ho187, firmware version 06, build date 11/05/2009. CVs 3, 4, 23 and 24 all set to (and read back) 0. I admit, I don't know what's going on. Any tips would be appreciated. Attachment...
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    Any steam locomotive valve gear gurus out there?

    Hi, I am in the process of semi-detailing an IHC Mountain as a stand-in for a CN locomotive. I will not be moving domes around, just trying to select the least inappropriate class of CN steamers. Among the differences between classes is the valve gear; some had Walschaerts and one class had...
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    How can amperage be measured on a layout?

    If all you're interested in is if you need additional boosters, and analog AC ammeter will suffice.
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    Creating a climbing mountain section on a layout.

    Just a couple of thoughts. . . Generally, a grade of 1.75% isn't bad in a model. It will impact the length of train a given locomotive can pull, as will any grade. The 'tight' radius curves you show will also affect the pulling power. A reversing loop is quite rare in the real world...
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    Sigh...confused about turnouts...

    Personally, I think you're making the right choice. When I started my current - hopefully lifetime - layout, I had accumulated a lot of code 100 track and turnouts. I'd also used code 83 and code 70. For this layout, I bit the bullet and bought Peco code 83 turnouts and flex track. Sure, it...
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    Freight train operations question

    Thanks to everyone who replied. Definitely need to finish the track so I can try these ideas out and see which works best for me.
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    Freight train operations question

    Hi all, I am in the middle of laying track on my new, hopefully lifetime, layout. I'm operating it in my mind, looking for potential snags etc. and it occurred to me that despite being a veteran modeller, there are gaps in my understanding of operation. Consider a manifest freight. In my HO...
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    Complicated Trackwork on a Grade

    None of the attachments will open for me. Can anyone else open them?
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    Hi from Wisconsin

    Welcome aboard! You'll find people here with knowledge and opinions on just about every aspect of this wonderful hobby. This is a great forum to ask for help or just bounce ideas around. Thanks for joining us!
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    a question about crossings and roads

    I seem to recall a photo 'recently' of a turnout in a roadway in one of the hobby magazines. There is, as they say, a prototype for everything. With a turnout, you would need to consider how the points would be moved by a scale crew member. Google streetcar track should turn up something...
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